Dear Neighbors,
The legislature is coming up on its first committee deadline. To be considered for passage this session, policy bills must have moved through committees in the House or Senate by Friday. The second deadline on March 22 is for committees to pass legislation that met the deadline in the other body of the legislature.
The final legislative deadline is April 19, where the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee must act favorably on any major appropriation of finance bills.
These deadlines are important to ensuring that legislation receives property scrutiny and that the legislature gets it work done on time, without rushing legislation through the process at the last minute near the end of session.
Coffee and Conversation
On Saturday, March 16, I will be holding a Coffee and Conversation event from 9-10:30 AM at McKale's Family Restaurant and Catering (10 Ash Street, New London, MN 56273). Feel free to stop by and talk about the issues!
Committee Hearing on Funding for Highway 23
As many of you know, Highway 23 in our region is just two 7 mile stretches away from having a full four-lane connection to our Interstate System. One gap is between New London and Paynesville and the other between Paynesville and I-94 just south of St. Cloud.
Willmar remains the only regional center without what many would consider adequate four-lane highway access. Completing this four-lane corridor — a “Corridor of Commerce” — would expand economic opportunity and growth for our area.
I’m working with Republican Representative Jeff Howe who represents Paynesville on legislation to fund these four-lane corridors and we’ll have a committee hearing on the bill next week.
I’m hopeful that by working together we can get this done this session.
Throughout the legislative session, feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns on any legislative issue. Please contact my office at 651-296-6206 or email me at rep.mary.sawatzky@house.mn. You can follow me on Twitter or visit my AreaVoices blog for updates as well. Thank you for the honor of serving you in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
All the best,
Mary Sawatzky
State Representative
District 17B